I love old jewelry. It doesn’t matter if it is fine jewelry (seeing the Cartier exhibit in person is still one of my favorite memories) or costume jewelry (I still have some of the Trifari, Napier, and Monet items I saved my money for and bought when I was young.)
I follow B’Sue Boutiques, especially enjoy buying vintage items from the etsy shop, and was moved to research Miriam Haskell a little more when A Grain of Sand had a competition to make a piece inspired by her designs. I also love the idea of a woman back in the day making such a successful business.
When I saw these beads available for purchase from Vintage Bead Vault, I loved them anyway because they are fantastic. But the fact that they were from an old Miriam Haskell piece gave them just a little bit of extra cachet.
Oh my gosh, I can hardly stand how fantastic these crystal and glass beaded beads are. Those glass drop beads look so unusual paired with the blue crystals; I just love everything about them. So I bought these four beads from an old Miriam Haskell piece – all that were available. I didn’t have a plan, but my favorite way to design is to buy beads I like and believe they will find their place. And these did.
I got some vintage glass macaroni beads from Sondra Jackson and some vintage German glass matte blue rounds from Ava Motherwell. I had all of these beads separately in my collection, and one day it hit me that they might all go together. I’m not sure what brought it to mind, but I got them out, and it was like they were made for each other!
I can’t believe how perfect the colors are. Although I love this bright orange, it’s not something I really see often. Since they are both vintage beads, maybe it was a popular color sometime in the past? 
I might end up adding some beads to the back that would lift the macaroni beads off my neck a bit. They seem like they could be pokey, and my skin never misses an opportunity to complain. I’ll wear it and see.
I’m thrilled how this necklace came together.
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